


off-tempo

by Misty_Reeyus



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 17:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misty_Reeyus/pseuds/Misty_Reeyus
Summary: Of course the nightmares would eventually return with a vengeance.





	off-tempo

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: [magivel - “Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore.”]

Nobody in the group is a stranger to Velvet’s nightmares.

They’ve all witnessed the effects of one, in some form or another. Usually, it’d be a shaky, despairing whimper of her brother’s name in her sleep, in which case the rest of them would all glance at each other and wordlessly agree not to bring it up. Sometimes, it’d be a violent reaction, in which case Velvet would awaken kicking and screaming and cursing Artorius to the ends of the earth until someone, usually Laphicet, stepped in to calm her down. But ever since the Calix, Velvet had been doing so well; she hadn’t been struck by a bad dream in so long. After these relatively untroubled last few weeks, they’d all sort of figured that the nightmares were behind them now.

Foolish, in retrospect.

Even on good days, trauma can strike for no discernible reason at all—Magilou knows that firsthand. So of course the nightmares would eventually return with a vengeance; of course Magilou would be woken up in the middle of the night because Velvet is shrieking and flailing against the covers of the neighboring bed. She’s probably still half-asleep, wild and near delirious as she cries out, “How could you, both of you, _how could you do this to me_?!”

Before, Magilou would just let someone else deal with the fallout, wait on the sidelines for the dust to clear and then lob in a scathing comment just to piss Velvet off. But after everything they’ve been through lately, after standing up to Melchior on the Calix, Magilou doesn’t feel the need to reopen old wounds the way she used to. She doesn’t know what to do instead but whatever it is, she has to do it by herself, because tonight Laphicet’s sleeping with Eleanor and the rest of them paired off into rooms by gender—and with the way Velvet is gasping so desperately you’d think she’s drowning, someone has got to do something _now_.

“Velvet, hey. Hey!” Magilou rolls out of her bed as Velvet chokes out a muddled mess of words: why would you—Arthur, Laphi—you betrayed me, _betrayed me_ —! “Calm down! They can’t hurt you anymore!”

Velvet doesn’t hear her. She’s too enveloped in her nightmare-induced haze, her legs tangling in her blankets, her hands splaying out, her fingers scratching at air. She fights frantically against nothing, as if trying to burst out of her own skin, and her bandaged left arm seeps with dark aura like it’s on the verge of unleashing its daemon claw. Gods, this dream must be worse than usual, and assurance was never Magilou’s strength, all she’s ever been good at is thinking up clever barbs and snarky quips. But she really doesn’t want to hurt Velvet any further; she just wants to _help_.

She just wants to help, and once that feeling overrides her brain, her body moves.

Magilou doesn’t realize what she’s doing until she’s already done it. Her knees are straddling Velvet’s hips and digging into the mattress; her arms have plunged through the mess of thrashing limbs to curl around Velvet’s middle. The position immediately feels awkward and unnatural, but Velvet’s response is to inhale sharply and freeze up so Magilou follows through, burying her face in Velvet’s chest and continuing to hold her close until slowly, slowly, Velvet’s body goes lax beneath her.

“…Magilou?” Velvet’s voice is raspy and tired, but when Magilou glances up at her face, her eyes are open, bright amber shining lucid and clear. “What are you doing?”

Magilou glances down at herself, at the way she’s still clutching Velvet in a rather intimately tight embrace, and her brain finally catches up. “I’m…not sure,” she manages, as honest an answer as she could have given.

With the panicked urgency of the moment now passed, their proximity feels distinctly _off_ , uncomfortable and strange in a way that makes something tighten in Magilou’s chest. But although her arms loosen their hold, somehow, Magilou just can’t quite bring herself to pull away entirely, and Velvet doesn’t try to get out, either. Uncertain, unsteady, the two of them gaze into each other’s eyes, sitting in frozen silence for what feels like forever before Velvet finally shatters it.

“You suck at hugging, you know that?”

The remark is utterly insensitive and Magilou floods with relief, the off-beat rhythms of her heart suddenly clicking right back into place. Callous comments, jokes and jabs—now _this_ is familiar territory, and Magilou easily finds her footing again. She huffs in mock-indignation, “Well, of all the ungrateful— _nnff_!”

Whatever balance Magilou thought she’d regained instantly collapses as Velvet abruptly shifts, cutting Magilou off by enveloping her within her own strong arms. One hand clenches tightly into the back of her shirt while the other strokes gently atop her head, and the tingles from that touch ripple down Magilou’s spine, all the way down to her curled toes. Velvet’s body against her own is soft and secure and warm, and oddly pleasant bubbles begin to rise up within Magilou’s stomach because she’s never…gods, she’s _never_ been hugged like this before, and now as she shuts her eyes and drowns in it, she doesn’t want it to ever stop.

Eventually, though, it has to. Magilou only barely manages to keep herself from whining in protest when Velvet breaks the embrace and then murmurs, perfectly deadpan, “That’s how you hug.”

Velvet turns her hips then, motioning as if to roll on her side and go back to sleep—but Magilou instinctively catches her wrist before she can.

“You,” Magilou gasps, and before she can help herself she’s already right in the middle of it so she might as well finish, “don’t have to stop.”

Velvet pauses, her eyes going wide, clearly surprised that Magilou just said that. Hell, Magilou’s surprised she just said that. But after a long while, slowly, expectantly, Velvet holds out her arms again.

Magilou practically falls right into them.

Velvet carries the momentum, leaning backwards until her back hits the mattress, and the two of them move in accommodation until Velvet’s spooning her. Two arms both loop around Magilou’s thin waist, and Magilou shifts until her back is pressed against a soft chest and Velvet’s exhaled breaths are washing warm over Magilou’s ear.

“Thanks, Magilou,” Velvet whispers, quiet, almost soundless, but Magilou hears it perfectly and feels herself shiver straight down to her core.

“Sure,” Magilou mumbles, and closes her eyes, content. “No prob.”

**Author's Note:**

> did i actually write a magivel that's not porn?????? miracle of miracles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
